Israel’s War Against Palestine: Documenting the Military Occupation of Palestinian and Arab Lands

US blasts Israeli restrictions on American travelers in West Bank

19 August 2009

By Natasha Mozgovaya, Haaretz Correspondent and Haaretz Service
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1108644.html

The U.S. State Department on Wednesday criticized Israeli restrictions placed on foreign nationals entering the West Bank via the Allenby Bridge, calling the new regulations ‘unacceptable’.

“We have repeatedly told the Government of Israel that the United States expects that all American citizens to be treated equally, regardless of their national origin or other citizenship,” a statement issued by the State Department said Wednesday.

The statement added “we have let the government of Israel know that these restrictions unfairly impact Palestinian and Arab American travelers and are not acceptable.”

For about the last three months, border control officials at the Allenby Bridge have been stamping visitors’ passports with a visa and the additional words “Palestinian Authority only.” Officials from the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), who are also present at the Allenby crossing, have in some cases told visitors that they must apply to the Civil Administration for a permit to leave the West Bank and enter Israel.

The new restrictions heavily affect foreign nationals who enter the country because they have family, work, business or academic ties in the West Bank. It now restricts their movements to “the Palestinian Authority only.” The people concerned are citizens of countries that have diplomatic ties with Israel, mainly Western countries.

In imposing such restrictions, Israel is in breach of the Oslo Accords.

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